Weight Loss Tip – Wriggle About to Burn Energy!

A great weight loss tip is to recognize that you can shed the pounds more quickly, and keep them off, if you wriggle about! All those hours straining in the gym can burn fat and build up muscles…but don’t forget that muscle weighs more than fat so if you get the balance wrong then you can actually put on weight. Also an hour in the gym doesn’t make up for eight hours sitting at a desk at work. Learn the tricks of wriggling, the best weight loss tip around!

Why Wriggling Works:

As humans we have evolved from hunter gathers who spent most of their time on their feet hunting and searching for food. Our body is optimized for regular gentle exercise like walking, and short bouts of high intensity exercise like running. If we keep this in mind then sitting at a desk is just the worst thing to do for our health and weight management. Wriggling about…or being generally more active, raises your metabolic rate and ensures that you burn more calories during the day. Plus every time you get off your bum and walk about then you burn even more calories. An average person will burn around 40 to 50 calories an hour sitting at a desk. Just walking burns over 150 calories per hour and climbing stairs around 400 calories an hour. Get the picture? So your weight loss tip is that you need to find ways to wriggle around at work and avoid sitting still for long periods of time.

Ways to Wriggle:

Get on your feet at work….talk to colleagues while walking around! And of course, walk round the block after lunch…

When we are at work in an office it is like we are chained to a desk, and often we feel embarrassed or uncomfortable about getting up and walking around. Well, actually your work efficiency and concentration will improve the fitter and more active you are. James A. Levine, a professor at the Mayo Clinic has discovered that we typically concentrate best in short 15 minute cycles…in between it is good to walk around or at least change task. So start wriggling around with a clear conscience! Here are some good ways to wriggle around at work:

Send everything you print to a printer on the other side of the office….so you have to get up to collect the printouts

Stand up when you are on the telephone…hopping around on one leg is optional!

If you have a question get up and walk over to your colleague rather than sending an email…this way you also get the answer more quickly as well

Go to the bathroom to brush your teeth (as well as all the other biological functions!)

Suggest a meeting with a colleague walking around the corridors rather than sitting in an office

Even if you eat your lunch in the cafeteria make sure you walk round the block afterwards

Never use the lift…work out ways of going up and down stairs as many times as possible during the day

Here is a link to an article in Forbes with a weight loss tip about keeping active at work to help your productivity and concentration:How to be More Productive at Work

Monitor Your Wriggling:

So how do you know if you are wriggling around enough? Well actually it is pretty simple with a FITBIT. A what???? The Fitbit was first launched in 2008 and with an improved version later in 2011. A Fitbit is a wireless gadget that tracks your activity metrics and sleep patterns. It contains the same kind of 3D motion sensor as a Wii remote. A wireless USB docking station automatically uploads your data to the Fitbit website. You can check your daily progress either via the display on the device or by logging onto the website. Of course there are also apps for the iPAD and Smart Phones as well so you can always have the latest data at your fingertips. The Fitbit is really small and discrete and you just clip it onto your belt or shirt, while at night it fits into a comfortable wrist band. Start using it and you will be amazed at what it can show you about your lifestyle and activity levels. If you are serious about weight loss or just maintaining your fitness then a good weight loss tip is to buy a Fitbit. Not only is it a great gadget but you will quickly see how much you are wriggling around each day…and learn to burn off loads more calories even before you get to the gym!

Final Weight Loss Tip:

Best Weight Loss Tip – Avoid sitting still at your desk for long periods of time…find every excuse to wriggle! It will improve your concentration as well as your health!

A final weight loss tip from the Meany Goat….remember that everything you eat has to be burned off…so the more you eat the more exercise you are going to need to do. If you think that an hour or two a week in the gym will do the trick then think again. Keep wriggling, keep fidgeting and keep moving….at all costs avoid sitting still for too long and you will soon find that it is easy to maintain your ideal weight. Incidently, the Fitbit an also be used to help monitor your sleep patterns. Proper sleep is part of your road to fitness and health!

About Meany Goat

The MeanyGoat lives in France but works in Switzerland and has many years of experience living a frugal lifestyle. Specific expertise in organic vegetable production, herb growing, greenhouse management, solar power and low energy use.
The MeanyGoat believes that you don't need a lot of money to be happy and you don't need to buy new stuff all the time to keep up with your friends. Live your own life in your own way and with your own rules - be happy and don't let others push you around or put you down!

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